The Story of Pan

 It was when he looked at me,

seeking stories that kept him young,

that I fell under his spell

and became his Wendy.

He’d perch on my sill,

the moon casting his shadow across my room,

listening intently as I’d tell him tales

of lands far away

where pixies own the wind

and good triumphed over evil

and fairy tales had happy endings.

He, in turn, taught me of the lost boys

who laughed with their heads tilted back

and good was sometimes bad

and bad was sometimes good,

how there was a pirate in all of us

yearning to get out.

He taught me to fly,

taking me to where the stars

sung ethereal hymns

in a constant chorus

of yesterday and tomorrow,

and we’d chase each other

on moonbeams and baby’s breath,

never letting the sands touch our toes

as we taunted the lapping waves

that reached earnestly for our feet.

And he’d listen to me speak,

wanting to know more and more

about why the dragonfly hovers

and how the caves were formed,

yet never interested in when

or time

or past

or future.

It was when I loved him most that he disappeared,

leaving the land of tomorrow

to stay in the land of today,

the place that we had created together

through fairy tales

that became more and more real

with each tale we spun.

It was then that I aged tremendously

as my heart broke in two,

the pieces scattered around me

from my sleeve to the ground.

Yet every now and then he’d find his way to my sill,

just when I’d finished pasting pieces back together,

and beg for a story, just one more story.

 

Tell me a story.

 

And I’d relent as he chewed

on a broken heart chip,

taking a piece of me with him

so that I’d never be whole again,

wondering where he is when he’s gone,

consumed by his boyishness

wanting to remain young forever

no matter how much I’d try to grow up.

Reviews

[Kizitaly]

Damn! You are so talented.

[Spoken]

wow...

can't think of much else to say.. pan is my favorite childrens story

wonderful wonderful use of words and such beautiful descriptions...

truly enjoyable piece! I'd pick out lines, but there's too many to choose!

[Poeticpiers]

I really enjoyed this piece of whimsy i felt the truth behind your words We all grow up but deep inside we never cease to be a child.